Sunriver Reunion
by Mike Thompson, 7/19/2014
We rented two side-by-side homes at Sunriver for a family reunion, which began on the 4th of July, 2014. The crew included...
- Beverley
- Gary and his daughter, Makenna, who flew up from SoCal
- Susan & Bill
- Katie, Damon, daughter Ella, and son Sevy
- Maggie
- Billy & Melanie
- Mike & Jane
- Erika, who flew in from Denmark
- Pat Neal, who drove over from Depoe Bay
The weather was perfect, and everyone who drove in from the north commented on how beautiful the mountains looked. Snow-capped Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, and the Three Sisters all stood tall above the other peaks as we approached Bend on Highway 97. The blue skies and sunshine lasted for the entire week.
Sunriver is a nice place to have a get-together because there's someting(s) for everyone to do there. With over 30 miles of paved bike trails, biking is a great way to get around while getting some outdoor exercise. Between us all, we must have logged over a hundred miles on the bikes. There were a couple swimming pools and a big water park, which was a hit with the kids. There were two golf courses to tempt Gary (though I think he opted for biking instead). There were tennis courts, though we only managed to get out to use them once. Melanie and Ella took advantage of the stables to go horseback riding. On Tuesday a bunch of us went to the marina and did a three-hour float/paddle down the Deschutes River. And that's just in Sunriver - within a thirty mile radius lie a bunch of other fun things to do: hiking in the Three Sisters Wilderness, paddling on the Cascade lakes, Mt. Bachelor, lava tubes, and downtown Bend, just to name a few.
Ella and Sevy put together a schedule of comings and goings and activities for the week, shown below.
Here's a bunch of us hanging out on the deck at #4 Leisure Lane (gotta love that street name!). Billy is at work at the barbecue. Maggie and Melanie are busy in the kitchen, as it was their day to cook breakfast and dinner.
One of the houses had both a ping-pong and a foosball table, which got a lot of use. I spent a bunch of time playing with Ella and Sevy the first day or so, and then Makenna took over when she, Gary, and Beverley arrived. As the week went on creativity took hold, and the two games morphing into previously undiscovered contests based on paddles, a table, a combination of ping-pong and foosball balls, and a net, with neither walls or ceiling considered to be out of bounds. Speaking of contests, I hereby declare Sevy the winner of a funny face-off that was held on the deck.
On Sunday Pat Neal, cousin to Beverly, Susan and I on the Thompson side, drove over from her home in Depoe Bay. It was great to visit with Pat, whom we rarely see. We heard of her volunteer work in Depoe Bay, and learned about some Thompson family history.
We cheered and cheered for the Dutch team at the World Cup on TV. It worked when they beat Costa Rica on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals. It didn't work when they lost to Argentina on penalty kicks in the semis. They did beat Brazil 3-0 in the consolation final, thus finished 3rd in the tournament.
On Monday morning five of us rose early, grabbed our packs, and drove to the South Sister trailhead at Devils Lake. We started up the trail at 7:00 AM, got back to the cars at 5:00 PM, and in between had a fantastic climb! At 10,358 feet, South Sister is the third highest peak in Oregon, and much of the way was covered with snow, so we were all glad that we chose to wear boots rather than try to get by with running shoes. The sky was blue and the views were stunning. To the south we saw the Cascade Lakes, Mt. Bachelor, and two other snow-capped peaks, the farthest of which may have been Mt. Shasta. Looking to the north from the summit we could see nearby Middle and North Sister, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Adams on the Washington side of the Columbia River.
With many of the grown-ups gone climbing, Ella and Melanie went for a horseback ride. Looks like a nice place to be a horse, huh?
Erika chose to visit a friend near Bend, and to do some jet lag recovery on the sofa. She also got some soothing massage therapy, thanks to Ella & Sevy.
Susan also chose to avail herelf of a snoozin' opportunity out on the deck, in the shade of a pine tree.
Puzzles were puzzled over and games were played, including this game of catch between Ella and Damon.
On Tuesday a bunch of us headed over to the marina. Mike and Jane brought their canoe, Gary and Makenna rented one, and everyone else rented a raft. From there we did a three-hour float/paddle down the Deschutes River. Not content with just floating and paddling, Maggie jumped into the river for a swim. She was soon followed by Erika, Ella, and Makenna. Makenna ended up swimming the final mile or two of the trip. Is whitewater swimming an Olympic sport yet?!
And there were side-trips. On Thursday Susan, Bill, Jane, Mike, and Erika rode the chair lift up Mt. Bachelor and had lunch at the lodge. Here we are: (1) at the lodge, with the South Sister, Middle Sister, and Broken Top in the background, and (2) on the ski lift, wearing fairly stylish sunglasses fairly stylishly.
Mike and Jane did some paddling on beautiful, nearby Hosmer Lake. That's South Sister in the distance, the falls just above the top of the lake, and the moon reflecting on the water at sunset.
Just after Maggie left, Damon took this photo of the rest of us.
